The FOBISIA Model United Nations Conference

A delegation of six enthusiastic delegates represented our school at the FOBISIA MUN conference hosted by BISS Puxi from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th February 2017. They were led by two of our most experienced MUN members who were serving as presidents of two committees. Being the last MUN conference our team was attending this academic year, they were all eager to leave a mark at the conference, and they did not disappoint. After three days of lobbying, networking and passionate debate, their experience and grasp of global affairs was clear with some of them having taken to the floor at every available opportunity. Rachit Jain was voted by fellow delegates as the “Most Passionate” in the Security Council with Amanda Cheng scooping the “Most Diplomatic delegate award” in ECOSOC. Below are the delegates’ reflections of their experiences at the conference:

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I attended FOBISIAMUN serving as the President of ECOSOC. It was more than a normal MUN conference to me, as it was my first time chairing a committee. I was worried and excited at the same time, although all of that morphed into sheer enjoyment when I arrived at BISS Puxi. Serving as a chair was very different from being a delegate as it called for more responsibility. As I was in charge of the overall organisation of my committee, I had to manage debate time, talk with each and every delegate and comment on the drafted resolutions. I tried to encourage all delegates to participate in debate by sending them notes, talking to them face to face and helping them with their speeches and amendments. I had to correct myself a number of times as I was not very familiar with chairing, however, thanks to all delegates and my deputy chairs, I improved as the debates proceeded. I want to thank my deputy chairs who supported me, and delegates who made all of these things possible. I will not forget the three days spent at FOBISIAMUN in a hurry.

Cindy Son

President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

It was an honour to serve as the President of the Security Council for the three-day conference. In our committee, we debated on four resolutions: two on countering international terrorism, one on government officials and martial law, and one on the illegal trafficking of weapons and the dark net. Out of the four resolutions, two were successfully passed. By the end, we had nearly 150 points of information, over 50 amendments, and nearly 70 speeches. In a committee of only 11 delegates, the figures become even more impressive. Furthermore, the participation rate was 100% on both days, with all delegates having spoken and contributed to the discussion. Overall, FOBISIAMUN II has been one of the highlights of my MUN career so far. Having had the opportunity to chair a council with very rigorous guidelines has significantly contributed to my understanding of MUN procedures. Moreover, meeting so many delegates from schools that came from as far as Malaysia made FOBISIAMUN a truly unforgettable experience.

Benedicte Vestrum

President of the Security Council

FOBISIAMUN for me was a special and challenging experience. It was my second MUN conference and first opportunity to be a main-submitter in the General Assembly. Being the delegate of Australia in General Assembly was absolutely special to me. I was able to meet various people from other countries and schools. Under the theme, “Freedom of speech, thoughts and religions”, we were able to share different opinions and learn from each other through discussing and debating. Although everyone was from different schools, at the end of the three days we were all quite close. Moreover, I was able to learn global issues and how to resolve the issues collectively with others. As all resolutions passed, I realised the importance of caring and cooperation. All delegates worked together to put effort to resolve the issues and I was really impressed with it. This made the conference very meaningful and precious to me.

Being a main-submitter of a resolution was challenging and required much more responsibility on my part. Unfortunately, there no other delegate wrote a resolution on “Preventing the exploitation of human workforce in the extraction of precious stones in areas of conflict in Africa.” I was not able to merge with and learn from other delegates. However, this gave me the opportunity to be more of a thinker, knowledgeable and risk-taker, boosting my confidence making my experience very memorable.

Ahra Jang

Delegate of Australia in General Assembly

This MUN conference was extremely enjoyable as it provided us with many more new friends to make with other schools in Shanghai joining and even a school from Malaysia. Biss Puxi did an excellent job in welcoming all of us to their conference and it turned out very well. For me the highlight has to be the crisis issue where we debated on whether to give of 20% of the planet’s child population or else stand the risk of the entire human race being exterminated. Sadly, this was our last conference for this year and we tried to really make the best of it. Due to all the fruitful debates and mature discussions, I think I speak for all of us when I say that I think NAIS has pulled off the best performance of the whole year.

Warren Gichana

Delegate of Australia in the Special Council

I attended FOBISIAMUN as the delegation of Australia in ECOSOC. Since it was my first time serving a delegate in an MUN conference, fear overwhelmed me and the only thing I was able to do prior to the conference was to prepare my opening speech. Although participating in an MUN conference for 3 days was quite a challenge for me, by the second day I fully understood how the conference works. On the last day, I finally came up with my own amendment and made a ‘Follow up’ to a question. I think the conference was a great experience for me and I have no doubt this will help me in the future and in my career. Best memory of 2017 so far!

Simon Son

Delegate of Australia in ECOSOC

Of all the four MUN conferences I have attended, BISSMUN was not the most rigorous one, but was undoubtedly the most exciting experience; something I will never forget. In the beginning I had been slightly hesitant about joining as the 3-day commitment seemed overwhelming, and I suppose I just did not have that much passion for MUN back then.

Attending as the delegate of China in the Economic and Social committee, I had researched and prepared myself for the debate on trying to solve the HIV? AIDS scourge, which was the topic I found most interesting compared to pension care and global warming. However, many other delegates also shared this preference, and as a result, the majority of the house had wanted to write resolutions for HIV and only one delegate was prepared to do pension care. Although slightly reluctant as I had not researched about the topic, I volunteered to join the delegate of Austria in writing up a resolution for pension as I knew that if no one volunteered, the topic may not be debated, and that would be a real shame seeing as it is also a major issue that needs to be addressed. Also, I wanted to challenge myself, be a risk-taker and see how well I would be able to adapt to sudden changes, which will definitely continue to occur throughout my education and career. In the end, our resolution actually turned out to be one of the best ones and passed with barely any amendments made. This was especially rewarding for me as I gained confidence in my adaptation abilities and my overall capability of resolution-writing.

As we debated each resolution, my passion towards MUN grew stronger than ever. I made more POIs and amendments in this conference than in all three previous conferences combined, continuously questioning delegates, sending notes to new allies and submitting amendments to clauses where I thought appropriate. In the beginning, the podium intimidated me and I was reluctant to make speeches as I was afraid that I would not be able to answer a POI, however, after a few tries, I managed to conceal my discomfort and gradually the frequency of my voice increased. Soon, I became one of the most persisting delegates in the committee and while defending my views, even sparked a formal argument with the delegate of Venezuela regarding the logistics of one of his clauses (which I still believe to be questionable). I am especially proud of receiving the best delegate award for being the ‘most diplomatic’ delegate in my committee as I had never thought the word ‘diplomat’ would ever suit me due to my introverted nature.

Now, just thinking back to the debate excites me and I really cannot wait to participate in another conference. FOBISIAMUN showed me just how diverse MUN can be; it is not just about politics but also all other issues concerning the global society, whether it is healthcare, human rights or technological advancement. MUN is truly something everyone can find joy in, and is especially rewarding as it greatly develops our abilities in public speaking, teaching us how to express our opinions strategically and confidently in a polite manner. We learn to adapt, to quickly formulate responses, to pick out errors from resolutions, to turn foes into friends, and most importantly, to tackle issues which concerns not just ourselves but the entire society, bringing us out of our comfort zones and into the real world.

Amanda Cheng

Delegate of China in ECOSOC

FOBISIAMUN: Freedoms. One of the branches of the big FOBISIA alliance between schools, it stands as a monument to international educational collaboration. And as a Model UN conference, it pushes the international awareness aspect to a whole new level. Model UN is a type of conference where delegates from different countries and schools come together to represent a country in a debate of issues related to world importance in different councils with formalities that rival the real UN itself.

We arrived on Friday at BISS Puxi right before lunch after a long bus ride. Upon arriving there earlier than the rest, we started exploring the school while waiting for lunch. The lunch itself was delectable, with delicacies like Quesadilas and juice on offer. The opening ceremony was graced by the gargantuan team of year 12s, roughly 120 students in number. A Canadian diplomat made a speech on the importance of the UN. One striking thing was an apology from the principle on behalf of his generation for messing things up for everyone else after them. I think it speaks of the paramount importance MUN and world diplomacy has on everyone, and how MUN is not a simulation of the United Nations, but rather a simulation for the United Nations.

After a few performances by the primary section of the school, each delegate made their way to their committees for opening speeches, merging and lobbying. This delegate managed to bring together every P5 nation, nations with veto powers that consist of France, UK, US, Russia, and China, into a single bloc in order to make decisions effectively.

Day two consisted entirely of debate time, with excellent points made and discussions sparked. The total debate time was around eight hours, frequently punctuated by lunch and snacks all around. Clause by clause, each resolution was torn down and rebuilt in the form of amendments and points of information. The delegation was especially great at making new connections, with all schools present at the conference agreeing to try their best to attend NAISMUN IV.

Day three consisted of more debate and networking. Of note is the closing ceremony where the Secretary – General and the rest of the secretariat gave out awards. I won an award for the most passionate delegate in my committee, representing Japan. The performances were also vibrant and energetic, with tenuous effort put in by all performers.

Overall, the conference was enlightening and enjoyable, with many friends made along the way. This is one of those experiences that one remembers for a lifetime while making a difference, in the spirit of NAIS Pudong.